ronnieg

Haven't been on here in awhile. Right now I'm in need of 2000 southwind 36t DC schematics. I blew a right inside tire coming up to Vermont for our summer stay. If you owners don't know it, that's where southwind ran the DC wiring circuit! This happened too me before, but not as bad, the last time (10 years ago) I was able to replace the wires that were torn out by the impact by matching size 16/18/22 AWG wires by matching colors. This time I have wires that are larger red and black #6 AWG and maybe a resistor or something inline. I think one of these is a power line to house batteries or something. What I am in DESPERATE NEED OF is a schematic for this DC circuitry, so I can find out where it comes from and goes to, any help would be appreciated. Thanks RonnieG Ron Graef v

This won't help the folks having a lock out problem, but, I thought if I posted this here, it would be useful information. I have a 2000 Southwind with a Trimark 030-0900 entry lock. It has both a flip lever for the "dead bolt" and a moveable rod for the door catch. I wanted to take it apart because I was having trouble with the key lock. I asked several different RV shops here in Florida how to get the small lever off? I was told "it's a bear" "it's very difficult" and "you have to break it off", So I'll pass this along. Trimark, who apparently seals all aspects of there door lock mechanisms and does not sell any parts just mechanism sides (inside/outside) for more then the whole assembly is worth, doesn't tell you that the small lever comes off with the inside piece and is NOT fastened to the rod that it is controlling. I assume this is not news to many of you, BUT, I could not find it anywhere. the small lever is held to the inside plate with an "inside" star washer and is easily removed with the plate. I was afraid to remove this because of the statements from RV mechanics, but after I examined it, I cautiously pulled and almost fell over backwards when it slide off easily. I searched the internet for any hint of how this was removed, because it appears to be fastened with a circlip (the star washer) and I thought someone might be in the same fix.

Once again, "different stroke for different folks" the onan service manual doesn't address "carb priming" in the fuel section. The Electronics section says that upon pushing the start button, you energize a relay which turns the fuel pump on for starting. This is apparently the earlier method of priming. A friend owns a little bit later model, and it has a direct priming switch. I'll check to see if the rely is working first, then the circuit board. My current thought is to put my own priming switch in a do away with the relay. We'll see. To Planocat, I "hot wired" the electric fuel pump to prime the carburetor and the Generator started fine and ran well and produced all the energy I need for several hours. So I can only assume that the carb. is fine the way it sits. As I said earlier, I replaced all the fuel lines because they were old and I was going underneath anyway! Thanks for your input.

This is the "Real" service manual, purchased from Cummingsonan and it's still not as detailed as it should be. Ron

Herman New fuel filter, new fuel lines. Your right though, I should call Onan and ask them how it works!! I guess I'm just used too a more thorough sevice manual with better detail of system operation. This manual just doesn't seem to go into detail. I'll update after I talk to Onan next week. Ron

I should have stated earlier that I'm aware of the oil and fuel level cutoff's that are built in safeties. The oil is full-full and this has occurred with a full tank, and currently it's a one-half tank. I think there is a priming mechanism in the starting, but I just can't seem to find it mentioned in the service manual or see it in the schematics. When I stared it by "Hot" wiring the pump to prime it, I disconnected the circuit and hit the starter. The pump began to operate several seconds after the engine began running (I could tell this by the clatter this pump makes when energized) as if there is a pressure switch or electronic mechanism that turns the pump on. In regards to fuel lines, I replaced ALL the rubber fuel lines with new and have visually inspected the metal fuel line to it's entry into the coaches fuel tank (that's not fun for an old man on a creeper). Nothing seemed amiss during the inspection, but it might be worth another look. I keep coming back to the pump, which doesn't seem to get voltage until "after" starting when I would think I should hear it working during the starting process. Any thought's. By the way, when it run's it runs perfect and it will run both of my roof A/C's without a wimper. The individual I bought it from must have taken good care, because so far everything work's very well and appears to be maintained well and I intend to keep it that way.

My 2000 Southwind is equipped with a Onan BGM 5500 gas generator. It ran fine then just suddenly stopped running. So I naturally went through the basics, - Ignition induction, fuel. If I put starting fluid into the intake, it started but failed to stay running, so I went to the electric fuel pump. I replaced it because according to the manual it's supposed to develop 3.5 psi and it didn't seem to do that. New pump in, it still wouldn't start! At the suggestion of a friend, I hot wired the pump and primed it. The BGM started right up and ran fine (pumps a little noisy, it clatters when running) then I shut it down and went the next day to start it again and it would not start. I can't find any reference in the service manual as to how the BGM primes the fuel system, so I'm thinking of wiring in a primer switch to the pump to prime it prior to each start. I have seen later models of the same generator which have a prime switch incorporated into the start switch. I'm looking for imput on this idea or if someone knows how the prime system works in this model and I need to do something else, please give me the information

Hi I see no one has answered any of your questions to date, so I'll make an attempt. First your coach appliances, like your house, run on 110 volts A/C current for these appliances like your space heater, Iron and usually your Front (main cabin) TV, Microwave oven and your rooftop airconditioners etc. Your generator supplies 110 A/C to your Coach when it is running. For normal camping you would hook up to "shore power" which is an external connection to a electrical connection at the campground. Today it is either 30 or 50 amps. I'm not sure what yours might be, probably a 30 Amp. In your "sewer connection" area which is generally around the left rear of the coach, you will find an electical connection for the "Shore Power" connection with a special connector for this purpose. The rear TV, can be both a 12 DC (this is battery current from the coaches batteries) or 110Volts A/C (this is generator current, or shore power current, the same as the power company supplies to your house), they should both turn on if properly supplied with the appropriate current just like any other TV (on/off switch or remote). Not being familiar with your coach, I don't know anything about there electrical gauging system so I won't attempt to answer that question. I live in Florida, so I won't go near the smog question. The TV, like any other TV in the world, has an antennae attached to it. usually this is on the right side of your coach, above the passenger seat. It lays flat to the roof for travel and is raised and lowered by a crank handle inside the coach. All TV stations (major networks) are required to still transmit to the "airwaves" therefore you can recieve these stations with an antennae. In your coach if they are original TV's they may not be capable of HD reception. If you want satellite TV, and there is no dish on your coach (usually mounted to the left side roof and flat to the roof for travel) you must purchase either a roof mounted dish or an external dish that can be connected to the TV at the campground (110 volt A/C) and then subscribe to a satellite service just like you might do at home. Solar panels can run from $39.00 at Harbor freight to several hundred dollars, depending upon what you wish to do with it. Dump stations? If you mean for your "Black water" and "Gray water" most any campground will have a dump station and allow you to dump for a minimal fee. Inverted and Converted--OK you got me there, the only thing I can think of is that you have a "INVERTER" which is a electrical mechanism used to convert 12 volts DC (battery current) to 110 volts A/C (house current) but in a limited amount. The converted I don't know. Last but not least GET THE APPROPRIATE MANUALS FOR YOUR COACH AND APPLIANCES. These are either available free on-line or available from the manufacturer at a minimal fee. I'm new to the RVing world, but I have a mechanical background, so I researched all aspects of my coach and others after I obtained my 2000 Southwind by Fleetwood. Good luck and most of all have fun!!!

Gary I'm going to watch this topic. I am considering using a lift and towing a car 4 down. I've checked the weights and it should work. Car weigh's 3700 and the bike weigh's 665. The car is towing capacity, but the bike is considered into MGVW or it's total carrying capacity if I put a lift on, but then I have to take into consideration the weight of the lift (Added to my wife's shopping capacity---Hmmmm). I'm looking for suggestion for the proper lift also.

On September 15, 2011, I posted a topic about having the body twisted on my 2000 Southwind (Fleetwood, 1999 Ford F53 chassis). I have been pondering this problem and asking everyone about it since then. I've been investigating my motorhome and every week or so crawling under it to see if I can find what cause's it. Several month's ago I went away for quite a while and asked a friend of mine to start and drive my motorhome while I was gone to keep it in running shape. He's the director of Aircraft maintenance at the Airline I used to work for, and he own's a 2000 34' Bounder. When I came back, he commented that when He drove my Southwind 36T, the steering wheel "jumped around" and it didn't do that in his? Well, both of us spent time crawling under to see if we could find the problem. Last week, my generator had a fuel pump problem which he and I worked on together. (note: if you change a fuel pump on a Onan "BGM" you must prime it before you start it-- It doesn't tell you that in the service manual). While we were working he said that it still bothered him about the steering wheel jumping around and it still did it after I had airbags installed to level the coach (At the suggestion of several RV shops and Fleetwood) and he had an idea. He and I were going to drive around with the engine "doghouse" off and he would observe the body movement while we drove (It's a V10 front engine chassis). Off we went driving around finding bumps, sounds silly right? Did you know that Fleetwood welded the "I-Beam" of the coach to the "I-Beam of the F53 chassis. We discovered that the mounting plates on the right side which appeared to be in perfect condition were broken loose from their very small 1/2" weld bead on each vertical end of an approximately 8" mounting plate. Did you know that these plates do not begin until about 6 to 8 feet from the front of the coach mounting frame? That's about where you entry door is! I have seen many AD's for motorhome's that have stated "It only lean's a little" and have had many people tell me "That's normal in older coaches". We also found the plates on the left side of the coach bent and moving the body to the left quite a bit. We also noted that his coach is a 2000 Bounder (Fleetwood) but it has a 2000 Ford F53 chassis and we haven't checked but I'll bet it was manufactured after mine, because when we went to compare the mount's, we found his mount's to be "L" channel with support gusset's instead of steel plate, and his weld beads were longer and both vertical and horizontal. I don't wish to believe Fleetwood found a problem and never advised owner's or dealers with service bulletins?? I am posting this, because many of us have and appreciate our older motorhome's and aren't aware of how they were put together. Mine is currently at a excellent welding shop, who's owner pointed out how the plates on the left side had buckled almost imperceptive and had shifted the body to the left. The repair will go like this: Support the body, cut the current plates free, align the body correctly and re-weld the plates on the right and put new or reweld the plates on the left and possibly add some gussets. You must be careful in welding to a chassis as each weld can weaken it. If you have this problem, get someone knowledgeable to do the repair. Hopefully I have passed along some knowledge. Happy RVing. Ronnie G.

Thanks for the reply Herman. Yeah I have my own OBDI, it's helped me fix a few things without searching around. I got out and got under and there is what appears to be a speed sensor on the rear differental. Now just to take it out and find the part number!!! Thanks again, I'll report back. Ron

I tried this in the engines forum, but I've gotten no replies. Does anyone know if the F53 motorhome (mines a 2000 Southwind) has a speed sensor? I've gotten a "P0500" OBDI code which indicates a "speed sensor" but cannot find a listing for one for this F53 unit anywhere.

OK, here's my problem. My service engine light came on and one of the codes was "P0500" which when I checked this code, it says it's the "Speed Sensor". I know there is a speed sensor on Ford differentals in Ford F450 Vans and a lot of pickups (Superduty V10), but I can't find any reference to one on the F53. Does anybody know if one exists? If so, do you know what the part number is or where to obtain one? Thanks you in advance for your help.

Haven't looked at that yet! I have to leave town for about 5 weeks (Grand children obligations) but when I return I intended to do that. By the way does anyone know anything about the "Tandem" braking system for a toad? I'm looking at towing my Dodge Ram pickup and this seems like a simple, direct, and easy to install system that should work and meet the requirements of all states and Canada? When I have the MH weighed I will have each wheel weighed in order to see if there is any weight that would cause this. As I think about it I think I'll use the electronic aircraft scales at my old company since they are individual and calibrated every 6 months. I'll get back to you on the weight. Ron

Thanks for the replies. As I had stated last month, with the motorhome empty of all cargo (I even removed the "large TV in the right front of the interior which weighed about 50 lbs.and replaced it with a 10 lb. flat screen), the right front appears to have a "lean" to the right. I measured this and found that from the left front tire to the right front tire centers there was a 2.75 difference. I thought I had a spring problem! I brought the vehicle to JOSAM Inc. here in Orlando. They're a worldwide truck suspension company. They measured and played for a couple of days, and told me the chassis was straight and the springs were in good shape. They then told me that they found the motorhomes body was twisted? I brought the coach home and crawled around for a day and could not find any body separation or area that appeared to be "working" or moving against one another. I found out that the construction of the motorhome by Fleetwood consists of mounting the floor with thru bolts and then mounting the walls to the floor with screws that are hidden under the trim that is directly above the storage compartments. I also found out that the tolerance at Fleetwood calls for no more then 1.00 Inch of difference from left to right upon completion measured at the tire centers from the fender center (Maybe mine was measured at 4:59 PM on Friday!!). JOSAM put a block under the right rear spring which raised it about .50 to .75 inches in the front but said any higher would raise the rear too much. They tried a helper spring but I was told it raised the rear end of the coach too much. Anybody have any thoughts or is it something I have too live with? As I said I was considering airlifts but I just don't know.. Suggestions please.